March 2012

...The leaders and officials gathered in that country were understandably preoccupied with the crisis in next-door Syria, while the situation in Iraq, nine years after the U.S.-led war was launched, was also a concern.

Gadhafi left behind a booby-trap. The collapse of authoritarian rule created a security vacuum with no functioning state apparatus, making Libya highly exposed to international influence, often in the service of corporate interests.

Pakistan by virtue of a range of circumstances may be the next target in the struggle for spheres of influence. Until recently, this question was not at agenda at all, Pakistan was, and is likely to remain a reliable strategic ally of the United States.

The context in which this regional summit should be seen is the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, the impending withdrawal of US and NATO forces from that country, and the estranged relationship between Pakistan and the US.

For the media, nuclear weapons are yesterday’s issue because nobody expects a nuclear war. But a nuclear weapon in terrorist hands is the defining nightmare of the post-9/11 decade, and that’s what the summit was actually about.

As expected, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s brief meeting with President Barack Obama in Seoul on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit produced no breakthroughs, but it did serve to clarify the issues.